Panel advances bills extending time to cure absentee and provisional ballots, adds phone/email notification
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Summary
The subcommittee approved HB 773 (moving absentee cure deadline to noon the Monday after the election) and HB 774 (extending provisional cure deadlines and adding telephone/email notification if available) after testimony from New Virginia Majority and registrar associations; both passed 6-1.
Delegate Thornton presented two related measures affecting cure timelines for absentee and provisional ballots. HB 773 would move the deadline for curing absentee ballots from the Friday before the election to noon on the Monday following the election, allowing registrars additional time to notify voters and receive corrected information. HB 774 addresses provisional ballots and, via an adopted amendment, requires notification "by telephone or by email if available" and sets the cure deadline at noon on the Monday after the election.
Proponents including New Virginia Majority and the Voter Registrar's Association said the bills help registrars contact voters and reduce disenfranchisement caused by late-arriving ballots or missed cure opportunities. Opponents, including election officers testifying online, cautioned that extending curing windows increases staff time and operational costs and may require shifting internal deadlines.
HB 773 was reported by the subcommittee and passed 6 to 1. HB 774 was amended on the floor of the subcommittee to clarify notification by phone or email and to name the general registrar as the administrative agent in certain sections; the amendment was characterized as friendly by the patron and the bill passed 6 to 1.
